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Topic Review (Newest First)

09-29-2011 09:31 PM

Classic30

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidpm

You have no idea. She can only catch thrown treats about 1 out of 3 times but whenever I get lost she can always smell which way the land is.

If you happen to be off a lee shore at the time, that might not be a good thing!..

09-29-2011 09:16 PM

davidpm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dog Ship

And get your dog off the helm, dogs have poor depth perception.

You have no idea. She can only catch thrown treats about 1 out of 3 times but whenever I get lost she can always smell which way the land is.

09-29-2011 09:46 AM

SHNOOL

Quote:

Likewise, if racing on a lake, reaching around the banks may prove much faster then beating a straight line across the breadth of the Lake.

I'd like to hear more about this! I have experienced it, and know it.. but I want to know why it is? I note there are usually more lifts close to shore on a given path than their are headers, and albeit might be "slower" and less wind, you can generally make more headway beating/reaching close to shoreline because of this effect.

09-29-2011 08:31 AM

Dog Ship

There are so many variables involved in fetching a mark that you simply cannot have a formula to achieve your goal.
As mentioned by SVAuspicious the best thing to do is give your self some wiggle room for the variables, ie; wind and current, giving right of way to other competitors. Keep your course high until you are sure you can fall off to make the mark.
And get your dog off the helm, dogs have poor depth perception.

09-29-2011 03:36 AM

Classic30

Quote:

Originally Posted by SVAuspicious

Although the thresholds are tighter racing than cruising, don't give up ground to windward to early or too easily. More often than not you'll need it later.

Quite true.. unless the wind changes.

09-28-2011 10:21 AM

SVAuspicious

Quote:

Originally Posted by acunningham

If the mark is moving downwind, you'll make the mark, and you can even bear away to gain some speed if you're confident you won't be headed by a wind shift.

Although the thresholds are tighter racing than cruising, don't give up ground to windward too early or too easily. More often than not you'll need it later.

09-28-2011 09:57 AM

svHyLyte

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidpm

I found this from Wikipedia:

.....Since waves rarely break onto a shore at right angles, the upward movement of water onto the beach (swash) occurs at an oblique angle.

David--

Some of that article is correct but some is erroneous, like the foregoing. Wikipedia can be a research tool but it is open source and much of what is written is simply opinion.

But, for the sake of the exercise, if you have it open Google Earth and zoom in on any shoreline. What you will observe is that the surf break is always parallel with the shore line. While waves at sea (or on a river for that matter) may approach the shore at an angle, they always curve into the shore to hit it in parallel lines. This is so, in part, because the (energy) flow that hits the more shallow water first is slowed and deflected upward, and the wave height increased, while the flow beyond continues at speed until it too hits the shallows. Surfers take advantage of this phenomena to surf at angles to the beach as the "shore break" will begin on the side nearest the shore and progress along its length but the break itself always parallels the beach.

N'any case, get yourself a hockey puck, a plastic board, and a grease pencil and you may find it's easier to lay a mark than without.

Wave action and longshore drift
Port Campbell in southern Australia is a high energy shoreline.

The waves of different strengths that constantly hit against the shoreline are the primary movers and shapers of the coastline. Despite the simplicity of this process, the differences between waves and the rocks they hit result in hugely varying shapes.

The effect that waves have depends on their strength. Strong, also called destructive waves occur on high energy beaches and are typical of Winter. They reduce the quantity of sediment present on the beach by carrying it out to bars under the sea. Constructive, weak waves are typical of low energy beaches and occur most during summer. They do the opposite to destructive waves and increase the size of the beach by piling sediment up onto the berm.

One of the most important transport mechanisms results from wave refraction. Since waves rarely break onto a shore at right angles, the upward movement of water onto the beach (swash) occurs at an oblique angle. However, the return of water (backwash) is at right angles to the beach, resulting in the net movement of beach material laterally. This movement is known as beach drift (Figure 3). The endless cycle of swash and backwash and resulting beach drift can be observed on all beaches.
Rhossili in Wales is a low energy shoreline.

Probably the most important effect is longshore drift (LSD)(Also known as Littoral Drift), the process by which sediment is continuously moved along beaches by wave action. LSD occurs because waves hit the shore at an angle, pick up sediment (sand) on the shore and carry it down the beach at an angle (this is called swash). Due to gravity, the water then falls back perpendicular to the beach, dropping its sediment as it loses energy (this is called backwash). The sediment is then picked up by the next wave and pushed slightly further down the beach, resulting in a continual movement of sediment in one direction. This is the reason why long strips of coast are covered in sediment, not just the areas around river mouths, which are the main sources of beach sediment. LSD is reliant on a constant supply of sediment from rivers and if sediment supply is stopped or sediment falls into a submarine canals at any point along a beach, this can lead to bare beaches further along the shore.

LSD helps create many landforms including barriers, bay beaches and spits. In general LSD action serves to straighten the coast because the creation of barriers cuts off bays from the sea while sediment usually builds up in bays because the waves there are weaker (due to wave refraction), while sediment is carried away from the exposed headlands. The lack of sediment on headlands removes the protection of waves from them and makes them more vulnerable to weathering while the gathering of sediment in bays (where longshore drift is unable to remove it) protects the bays from further erosion and makes them pleasant recreational beaches.

09-27-2011 11:30 PM

davidpm

Quote:

Originally Posted by svHyLyte

the wind tends to veer or back as wind always tries to cross a water/land boundary at right angles, just as waves always wash up on a beach at right angles.
Good luck...

That sounds right. Underwater the ripples in the sand tend to be parallel to the beach.

I will try to find independent confirmation of this!

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